Incubating grassroots technological innovations:
honeybee network experience
From sink to source: Poor people
and regions as providers
of
ideas, innovations, institutions and values
anil k gupta
iima and honey bee network, sristi and NIF
anilg@sristi.org
www.sristi.org www.nifindia.org
www.gian.org www.indiainnovates.com
Intellectual
capital
Social capital
Intellectual property
Natural capital
Ethical Capital
Source: Gupta, 2001
Contested Domains of Local Knowledge
Individual creativity, nurtured by
community, diffused widely in
society
Community Knowledge
Public
domain
Community
knowledge,
documented &
disseminated
with or without
PI Consent
Knowledge
Individual
Individual
Community
Community
Public
Individual
Knowledge
Private, individual
knowledge
/innovations/practice
Practice
Public
None
Figure 1. Source: Gupta 2001,Gupta and Sinha,2002
Individual/Public
knowledge
• Do incentives for innovations matter?
• Obviously yes, but do incentives of same
kind will trigger various kinds of
innovations?
• What kind of contingent models of
rewarding creativity be developed so that
innovations for various social segments
evolve, mature and diffuse?
Resource right regimes
Knowledge
right
regimes
Private
Community
Public
Open access
Private
PKPR-1
PKCR-2
PKPR-3
PK-OA R-4
Communit
y
CKPR-5
CKCR-6
CKPR-7
CKOA R-8
Public
PUBKPR-9
PUBKCR-10
PUBKPR-11
PUBKOAR12
How to tailor incentives for combination of resource and
knowledge right regimes
What do we reward and how:
a) Unaided technological individual or collective
innovations ( covered by Intellectual property rights or not)
b) Partnership between grassroots innovators and R and
D institutions
c) Public domain or open source innovations
d) Linkage between innovation, investment and
enterprise
e) incubators for innovations
f) Institutional arrangements that make a difference to
the lives of the knowledge rich economically poor
people through agricultural and health technologies
How to reward:
Portfolio of Incentives for
innovations
Forms of incentives
Material
non material
material-individual
non-material-individual
Ipr or non ipr based awards
Awards
R and d grants
Target
Of
Recognition
Honour
Memorial
individual Endowments
Incentives
collective
material-collective
non-material-collective
Trust funds
Policy changes
Venture and incubation funds
Collective awards
Pedagogic changes
Supp for Institution building
endowments
• Violence on the margins:
• 150 districts affected by naxalite
movement out of 594
• Can we move towards the concept of
innovation insurgents?
• From sink to source: regions on the
margin have Poor as providers
1
Ache/Pain
1056
2
Respiratory disorders
895
3
ENT
864
4
Gastro-intestinal
disorders
753
5
Ulcer/Wounds/Cuts
702
6
Liver disorders
626
7
Fever
521
8
Musculo-orthopaedic
489
9
Skin diseases
442
10
Gynaecological
disorders
341
11
Poisoness bites/Stings
324
12
Neurological
309
13
Diabetes
253
14
Urological disorders
128
15
Blood
125
16
Burn injury
119
17
Cancer
119
18
Others
110
19
Viral diseases
89
20
Reproductive disorders
80
21
Cardio-vascular
68
22
Gum/Tooth disorders
37
23
Allergic disorders
25
24
Bacterial diseases
14
25
AIDS/HIV
8
Total
8497
Sample of Practices received for biodiversity based treatments of diseases by local communities and individuals at NIF
What are the ways in which national governments
can deal with this challenge?
• Identifying local champions who have a passion for
building upon people’s creativity and innovative potential
as well as traditional knowledge without in any way
taking an obscurantist view of formal institutional science
and technology.
• Empowering such individuals through endowments
similar to the one created by Government of India in the
case of NIF set up by Department of Science and
Technology (with a corpus of 5 million dollars).
• Trusting the Governing Board of such a Foundation to
maintain national register of grassroots innovations and
traditional knowledge, and build a value chain around
such innovations.
• Creating a policy environment for protection of people’s
knowledge and also providing risk capital for adding
value for developing products and commercializing
technologies at varying terms for mass consumption.
• Developing a fund for supporting diffusion of open
source public domain technologies governed by the Prior
Informed Consent of the knowledge holders,
communities as well as individuals.
• Incorporating lessons from the unaided innovations as
well as traditional knowledge in the curriculum at school
level to reinforce the spirit of conservation of biodiversity
and associated knowledge systems with simultaneous
inducements of healthy skepticisms and positive
experimental ethic.
GOLDEN TRIANGLE OF
CREATIVITY
Innovation
Enterprise
Investment
When Peripehery is the centre
• From grassroots to global:
– the case of coconut climber
• Kevin Davis’ feedback – “...the construction is
outstanding it is exactly as advertised. The device
worked perfectly. I climbed a 40 foot coconut tree very
quickly and safely. I am impressed. The video was
great …watched it one time set up the device… and
started climbing tree. I would like to be your distributor
for North and South America. I am willing to make an
initial purchase of at least 25 units. I wish to proceed
rapidly due to already getting inquiries and here in US no
one has patience. Now that American Airlines has
nonstop to Delhi I am eager to visit.”
•
What are we doing:
•
•
Honey bee network helped in setting up National Innovation Foundation with a corpus of 5 US mill
Dollars by Department of Science and Technology, indian government, 2000, Nifindia.org;
addition five million is granted this year
SRISTI has organized two international competitions with IFAD, Rome on scouting grassroots
Innovations, now third contest is supported by EU, international competition is being planned for
uncovering green grassroots innovations for sustainable technological change around the world (
www.sristi.org ) and third competition is now being launched
•
Awards not enough: also extend incubation and venture capital funding
•
Linking innovation, education and public policy
•
Giving visibility to innovators, linking them with each other, with formal R and D, universities, help
in filing patents where applicable, licensing their technologies to entrepreneurs,
•
National and international Register of grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge at NIF
•
Setting up an academy AASTIK ( Academy for Augmenting Sustainable Technological
Innovations, inventions and Traditional Knowledge )
Natural product lab pooling the best local innovations and practices for developing herbal
technologies
•
What next:
•
Proposal: Portfolio approach to provide incentives for innovation
•
Prize for grassroots innovators and outstanding traditional knowledge holders
•
Prize for grassroots innovators who have solved local technological problems, but
can not take these solutions forward, will never be able to diffuse these, and can not
persuade public sector R and D institutions to even technologically validate the
same, or value add in the same
Prize for innovative Initiatives even if they failed so as to promote innovative culture
Prize for partnership between individual innovators and R and D institutions in private
and public sector
Prize for young researchers and start ups which crack persistent problems
Honour to young innovation Fellows who may become leaders of innovation
movement after 20 years
Institutional platforms like gian /clearing house for linking innovations, investment
and enterprise
•
•
•
•
•
• What can we do
• Scouting and Documentation
• Database, national register
Value chian: business development, IPR, value
addition
Linking formal and informal science
Institutional innovations
Educational innovations
How do we learn from people’s
knowledge: the case of
coconuts
Portfolio of Innovations
on
Coconut
| Implements | Plant Varieties | Practices |
Source: NIF’s Database of Grassroots Innovation
Coconut Harvester
(Implement)
• Prime mover: 35 hp Tractor.
Mr. P. Kuruppiah
Tamil Nadu
• Working: Using a hydraulic jack,
10 levers from a tractor and lightweighing iron plates. This
machine elevates one person to
the desired height while the other
drives the machine.
• Capacity: Can harvest matured
nuts from trees up to a height of
50 feet. This machine can harvest
up to 10 acres of plantation in a
day.
• Price: Rs 3.5 lac
Video
Coconut Husker
(Implement)
• Prime mover : 1.5 HP electric motor
Mr. R.Jayaseelan
Tamil Nadu
• Working : A cylindrical metal shaft, one
end of which has two sharp blades at a
foot’s distance from each other. When
these blades rotate, the husk is removed
in four pieces, leaving behind only some
coir fibres in the nut.
• Capacity : 150 nuts per hour.
• Price : Rs. 17,000
Video
Palm and Coconut Leaf
Mat Weaving Machine
(Implement)
• Prime mover : Manual
Mr. T.S. Pasubathy Marthandan
Tamil Nadu
• Working: This machine
consisting of palm leaf rollers,
a mat roller, a cross pave
section and two pedal levers
on the left and right, requires a
skilled operator working with
an unskilled person.
• Capacity: Six mats in an hour
of around 2 X 4 feet size.
• Price: Rs.12,500
Video
Coconut Leaf Stick Making Machine
(Implement)
• Prime mover : Manual
• Working : The innovation consisting of simple
device for cutting the coconut leaves to
extract the midribs for production of broom,
requiring a skilled operator working with an
unskilled person The machine is an ideal
livelihood generating machine.
Mr. T.S. Pasubathy Marthandan
Tamil Nadu
Machine for Threshing Coconut
Husk for Coir Industries
(Implement)
Mr. K.R. Chandran
Kerala
• Prime mover : 10 HP motor.
• Working: Integument of coconut is
manually passed into the machine through
a conveyer. Spiked pressure plates located
inside the machine separates the pith from
the fiber. Two workers are required for
operation and this machine is easily
portable
•
Capacity: 3200 husks per day.
• Price: Rs. 8 - 25 lac.
Video
Coconut Tree Climber
(Implement)
• Prime mover : Manual
Mr. M.J. Joseph
Kerala
• Working: A coconut tree climbing
device, which can also be used in
the rainy season. The device
facilitates coconut harvesting, tree
pruning and application of
insecticide.
• Capacity: 40 feet tree in 2 min.
• Price : Rs. 800/- per pair.
Video
Low Cost Coconut Dehusker
(Implement)
• Prime mover: Manual
• Working: The innovation comprises of
wheels (bigger & smaller size), belt,
spinner and wooden roll. Input power is
given to bigger wheel and it transmits to
smaller wheel, which is connected with a
spinner. The spinner attached with
scratching wire is placed on a wooden
platform.
Mr. Satyendra &
Mr. Dinnanath Pandey
Assam
Coconut Breaker
(Implement)
• Prime Mover : Manual
• Working : This is a simple and userfriendly design of coconut breaker which
comprises of a wooden box and has a
semi-spherical cavity in it on which the
coconut has to be placed. Inside the
aforesaid cavity resides a hard thick
metal piece which has blade embedded
in the middle portion. Water can easily be
collected in the box.
Mr. M. S. V. Naidu
Tamil Nadu
Coconut Frond Shredder
(Implement)
Mr. A. R. Shivakumar
• This is an attempt to mechanize the process for
shredding or cutting coconut frond using a prime
mover
• The concept used here is of shearing (and not
chopping)
Coconut Cutter
(Implement)
• The iron cutter developed, is used to cut a whole
nut into two halves
• These nuts could then be used to extract oil or
for culinary purpose
Mr. K. R. Duraisamy
Tamil Nadu
Veepees Tender Coconut
Punch cum Cutter
(Implement)
• The machine can cut and punch tender coconut
• The equipment facilitates drinking coconut water
using a straw and also cuts the coconut into halves
Mr. V.P. David
New Hybrid Variety
(Plant Variety)
•
Its a hybrid coconut tree developed
by crossing tall and dwarf coconut
varieties.
•
Innovator used to keep the seeding
up to three years in the nursery and
then take them out and put them in
sacks filled with soil for one month
after which they were planted in the
main field,
•
The planted seeding starts yielding
within two years.
Mr. K. R. Duraisamy
Tamil Nadu
Controlling Mite Attack in Coconut
(Pesticide)
• Its a method to prevent the
attack of ‘Mandari’ (Eriophyid
mite - a kind of insect that
destroys tender coconuts) by
hanging two plastic bottles
(200-mg. capacity) with the
help of a strong plastic yarn or
twine yarn filled with kerosene.
This method has been found
very effective against this
dreadful insect.
Mr. K. Panickan
Kerala
Phytopalm: A Herbal Pesticide
against Coconut Mites
(Pesticide)
• Called Phytopalm, it’s a herbal
pesticide made from 10 herbs
to fight Eriophyde mites and
other sucking insects in
coconut crop.
• Success Rate: 80-90
Dr. I. Henry Louis
Tamil Nadu
Selecting Seeds
(Germination)
• It was observed that planting materials collected
from the parent plant which is fifteen to twenty
years old, has twenty four leaves and each
bunch contains at least twenty four nuts, are the
best. The matured nuts are not allowed to fall
down and are collected separately.
Mr. James Abraham
Effective Method of Sowing
(Sowing Methods)
• Instead of sowing arecanut or coconut in a vertical
angle, sow it in horizontal position. This practice
reportedly ensures 100 per cent germination.
Mr. G. Shivananjaiah
Early Germination of Coconut
(Sowing Methods)
• For early germination of coconut, place the
coconut upside (embryo side) down. After 13
days take the nut out and replant them in the
inverse position. This reportedly resulted in
early germination.
Mr. Shridatta
Trench and Platform Method
(Sowing Methods)
• The trees are planted on platforms, 16 feet
wide. The trenches are used to feed nutrients
and water to the roots. Almost all organic
wastes of the farm as well as FYM are placed in
the trench. This method of planting is believed
to increase yield.
Mr. Bhaskarbhai Hiraji Save
Banana with Coconut
(Intercropping)
• Planting banana all around the newly planted
coconut tree saves the coconut from scorching
sun in the initial stages of its growth. They also
create a humid micro climate for the young
coconut. After the harvest of Banana the stem
which are succulent serves as a water
reservoir for the coconut.
Spacing
(Pollination)
• It was observed that if the leaves of two coconut
trees touch each other, especially due to strong
wind/ breeze, they will disturb the pollen, as a
result of which fruiting may be adversely affected.
Hence spacing should be such that trees do not
touch each other. This has reference to a folk
saying that, “Lage to na lage; na lage to lage”.
Mr. Bhaskarbhai Hiraji Save
Preventing Fruit Dropping
(Plant Care)
• The shoots are chopped and spread around the
coconut palm to increase the yield.
Mr. Shridatta
Oozing of Brown Liquid from the Palm Trunk
(Plant Care)
• Application of lime up to six feet from the base of the palm stops
oozing.
Root Wilt
(Disease Control)
• Root wilt can be minimized by mixing red soil
around the main trunk in the leaf canopy zone of
the tree.
Mr. T. J. Thomas
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
• Extract of fruit of Opium plant (Cannabis sativa)
mixed with latex of Ficus sap is poured into the hole,
the beetles come out and thus can be killed
manually.
Mr. T Shivashankar
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. Thevasi Perumal
• Kolunchi (Tephrosia purpurea)
Placing the leaves in the primordial region of the palm is believed to
repel the insect.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. Thevasi Perumal
• Karpooravalli (Coleus aromaticus)
It is grown in the coconut orchard. The strong odor of this plant is
believed to drive away the beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. Sumantra Baruah
• Raw cow dung and dried fish
These are kept in a basket near the coconut tree. The beetles are
attracted to the strong odor and are killed manually.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. Jethabhai Arshibhai Kamaliya
• Jaggery and hot water
About 25 g of jaggery is mixed in 100 ml of hot water and poured
into the beetle hole. Ants get attracted to the solution and kill the
beetles.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
• Sand
Sand is put into the hole made by the beetle, it is believed that if the
sand falls into the thorax region then the beetle cannot move its
head and it dies.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. M Balakrishnan
• Castor cake
Castor cake soaked with water is kept in mud pot. The beetles are
attracted and they are manually killed.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. M Balakrishnan
• Lime water
Sprinkling lime water over the manure pits near plantation is
believed to prevent the breeding of Rhinoceros beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
• Champa (Michelia champaca)
The plant is sown in between the coconut trees. It is believed that
the fragrance of its flower drives away the beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
• Castor cake
Mud pot is buried in the soil with its mouth in level with the ground.
Three quarter of the pot is filled with water containing 250 g of castor
cake. The mixture reportedly attracts the beetle and they are
drowned.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Mr. Kumud
• Milk
Pouring milk on the shoots of the palm attracts black ants which kills
the beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetle
(Pest Control)
Enrique, Columbia
• Pineapple
Pineapple slices are kept in a cylindrical container and hung on the
crown of the palm. The beetles eat it and are not able to climb out of
the container and thereby gets trapped.
Eriophyid Mite
(Pest Control)
• Chilli powder, tobacco leaf powder and Butea
monosperma
All these ingredients when powdered, mixed and
dusted in the bunches of coconut, prevents the
attack of mites to a large extent.
Mr. Subramaniam R
Eriophyid Mite
(Pest Control)
• Kerosene
Kerosene filled in a bottle when tied to the coconut
palm is believed to drive away the mite.
Mr. K. Panickan
Red Palm Weevil
(Pest Control)
• Jaggery and water and Agave tuber
Paste is prepared by boiling jaggery and water and
smeared on the tuber of Agave. This is placed in a dish
and filled with two inches of water. The weevil bore
hole in the tuber and stay there for few days which are
later on destroyed. One such tuber is said to be
sufficient for one hectare.
White Fly
(Pest Control)
• Jaggery and water
Jaggery mixed with water is applied to the hole bore by
the grubs. Ants get attracted to it and they kill the grub.
Termite
(Pest Control)
• Tar or flooding
Tar is applied at 30 cm from the base of the palm
or sometimes the entire orchard is flooded with
water.
Herbal Broad Spectrum Pesticide
(Pesticide)
• Lasiosiphon eriocephalus or Strychnos nuxvomica
or Neem or Agave americana
The leaves of the plants are collected in a bucket
and 10 litres of boiled water poured over them. It is
allowed to ferment for 2 days. The leaf residues are
removed and the resultant solution is believed to
have good pesticidal properties.
Mr. Purushottam Rao
Pest control in Paddy
Mr. P Senthilkumar
(Pesticide)
• Coconut water
About 20 ml. of coconut water in 100 ml. of water is to be applied to
the field to irrigate paddy crop as soon as the saplings are
transplanted. This would help to reduce the pest attack considerably.
The same can be used to irrigate plants like lady's finger, bitter
gourd etc. This also help to increase the yield.
Better Yielding
(Yield)
•
Better yield in fruit crops and also in arecanut and coconut
garden
•
10 kg cow dung + 1 kg of neem cake + 1 kg ground nut cake
+ 1 kg jaggery + 100 g turmeric powder
•
All these ingredients are soaked in water for 48 hours
and its mixed with water in 1:10 ratio and its sprayed to plants
3-4 times. This practice was found to produce better yields in
Coconut, Arecanut and fruit crops.
Mr. G. Shivananjaiah
Treatment for wounds (Coconut oil)
(Use of Coconut)
•
Datura metel, Copper sulphate, Coconut oil
Leaf extract of Datura is mixed with Copper sulphate and
boiled in coconut oil in a mud pot. The mixture is boiled
until traces of water is removed. This when applied to the
wounds, is claimed to prevent infection.
Mr. G. Shivananjaiah
Scratches on Udder
(Outer Cover of Coconut Kernel)
(Use of Coconut)
•
Outer cover of coconut kernel and castor oil
Ash obtained by burning the outer cover of coconut kernel
is mixed with castor oil and applied to the udder.
Mr. Kanabhai M Patel
Weed Control- Marshilia Quadrifolia
(by Using Coconut Fibre)
•
Calotropis gigantea and coconut pericarp
Use of Calotropis as green manure prevents the growth of
weed and spreading the fibrous pericarp of coconut in
paddy field has also been reported to inhibit the growth of
this weed.
• Learning from nature:
Multi dimensionality
Multi functionality
Multi functional cycle by Saidullah: On road and in water
Motor-cycle based ploughing attachment ‘Bullet-Santi’
Mr. Mansukhbhai Jagani, Gujarat
• Kevin Davis’ feedback – “...the construction is
outstanding it is exactly as advertised. The device
worked perfectly. I climbed a 40 foot coconut tree very
quickly and safely. I am impressed. The video was
great …watched it one time set up the device… and
started climbing tree. I would like to be your distributor
for North and South America. I am willing to make an
initial purchase of at least 25 units. I wish to proceed
rapidly due to already getting inquiries and here in US no
one has patience. Now that American Airlines has
nonstop to Delhi I am eager to visit.”
Diversity of innovations: case of cycles, motorcycle and
sprayers
Bicycle based Innovations
Rider Induced bicycle
Mr. Kanak Das, Assam
Bamboo bicycle
Mr. Dodhi Pathak, Assam
Multipurpose Bicycle
Md. Kamruddin, Rajasthan
Bicycle based sprayer
Mr. Mansukhbhai Jagani, Gujarat
Bicycle with gear
Mr. Jayanti J Patel,Gujarat
Bicycle operated pump
Mr. Vikram Rathore, AP
Amphibious Bicycle
Mohd. Saidullah, Bihar
Bicycle based mobile spray pump
Subhas Vasantrao Jagtap, Maharastra
Bicycle based portable Pump
Mr. Nasiruddin Gayen, WB
Motor-bike based Innovations
Auto engine Stopper
Mr. Tukaram Varma
Chhattisgarh
Modified scooter for handicapped
Mr. Dhanjibhai Kerai, Gujarat
Motor-cycle based ploughing attachment ‘Bullet-Santi’
Mr. Mansukhbhai Jagani, Gujarat
Non-return valve for
4-stroke engine
Mr. Arvind Khandake,
Maharashtra
Motorcycle based sprayer
Mr. Ganeshbhai Dodiya, Gujarat
Small efficient diesel engine
Mr. Mansukhbhai Sanchaniya, Gujarat
Electronics based Innovations
Remote Fire Cracker Device
Balram Singh Saini, Haryana
Micro Windmil–
Mr. N V Satyanarayanan, AP
E-bike
Mr. Kanak Das, Assam
Solar Spectacle Frame for Night
Reading
Mr. Prakash Shende,
Maharashtra
Energizer Shoes
Mr. Pankaj Sharma &
Team, HP
Mobile Operated Switch
Mr. Prem Singh Saini, Harayana
Agriculture Sprayers
Kushal Sprayer
Khimjibhai, Gujarat
Motorcycle based sprayer
Mr. Ganeshbhai Dodiya, Gujarat
Bestow-Foot Operated Sprayer
Mr. Parbhatbhai Vaghani, Gujarat
Motorized multi-purpose
Mulubhai Senjaliya,Gujarat
Bicycle based sprayer
Mr. Mansukhbhai Jagani, Gujarat
Hand Operated Sprayer
Mr.Gopalbhai, Gujarat
Jayant Sprayer
Mr. Rameshbhai Bhalala, Gujarat
Bullock-cart based sprayer
Bullock-cart based sprayer
Mr. Bhanjibhai Mathukia, Gujarat
Mr. Bhanjibhai Mathukia, Gujarat
• Creativity counts
• Knowledge matters
Innovations transform
Incentives inspire
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